captain of the back seathttps://captainofthebackseat.wordpress.com
a tandem-touring adventureMon, 11 Dec 2017 05:46:20 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.com/https://secure.gravatar.com/blavatar/6bbdc964d9d406a021d2f089b405d7e1?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.wp.com%2Fi%2Fbuttonw-com.pngcaptain of the back seathttps://captainofthebackseat.wordpress.com
Our South East Asian tandem cycle tour: the route and the statshttps://captainofthebackseat.wordpress.com/2016/04/18/our-south-east-asian-tandem-cycle-tour-the-route-and-the-stats/
https://captainofthebackseat.wordpress.com/2016/04/18/our-south-east-asian-tandem-cycle-tour-the-route-and-the-stats/#commentsMon, 18 Apr 2016 16:12:28 +0000http://captainofthebackseat.wordpress.com/?p=3617]]>From mid-November 2015 to early April 2016 we cycled a loop around South East Asia, starting in Bangkok and heading north, and ending by travelling west through Cambodia and back into Thailand.
Our route looks a bit like a turtle sticking its tongue out (this was only slightly on purpose).

Thailand

Time spent in Thailand: 51 days

Miles cycled: 1211

Average distance per travel day: 41 miles (over 29 travel days)

Average spend per day: £30.05

Thailand is an easy place to cycle in many ways. The cost of living is cheap, there is tonnes of convenience and the roads are in good condition. I’ve never been anywhere where so much delicious food is available so cheaply and frequently.

A lot of Thai people do drive fast, and statistically speaking the roads in Thailand are quite dangerous, but we generally felt safe on the road. Almost all drivers overtook us safely, and drivers always slowed down when we had to pull out to make a turn. There is a hard shoulder along big roads which cyclists can use, and it is acceptable to go against the traffic in this lane (useful when the alternative is crossing a huge, busy expressway).

The landscape in the middle of Thailand is not that interesting, though there are plenty of temples to visit. In the north the mountains are beautiful and worth seeing – though they are eclipsed by next-door Laos’ scenery.

Thai people are very genuine, welcoming and happy. They are a great mix of hardworking and laid back. The phrase “mai pben rai” means “never mind” or “don’t worry about it”, and is a Thai cultural value, meaning: don’t take life too seriously. We liked Thai people a lot.

Laos

Time spent in Laos: 25 days

Miles cycled: 534

Average distance per travel day: 53 miles (over 10 travel days)

Average spend per day: £28.54

In the areas of Laos we cycled through there was pretty much one road and that was all. Everybody travelled along this road. Having said that, some areas were so remote that it felt like we were on a cycle path! There are much fewer vehicles in Laos, so the roads are quiet. But because of this I think Laos people are not used to sharing the road, and a lot of the driving we saw was dangerous. I was more worried on Laos roads than Thai roads. You have to be aware because you can’t count on other drivers to notice you!

Laos is a lot poorer than Thailand, and there is less convenience. We still almost never had to go hungry, but we did have to search a bit harder for restaurants and shops. And in Laos they have almost no good snacks for hungry cyclists! They mainly had wafer biscuits, Euro Cake that practically melts on your tongue, or rice cakes. Where’s the calories?! The roadside snacks we lived on – when we could find them – were bananas and Creme-O biscuits.

In the more remote areas accommodation was quite basic – bucket flush toilets and cold water, though we did stumble across really nice hotels surprisingly often too.

The mountains in the north were stunning, and quite frankly blow the socks off of northern Thailand (sorry Thailand). Once you’re away from the far north, the landscape in the middle is not as interesting. The cities were not bad. Luang Prabang is pleasant but seems to exist for tourists, and it felt a bit soulless as a result. Vientiane is not as “nice” but feels much more authentic.

Laos people are really nice. So many people said “Sabaidee!” to us, and people offered to share their food with us more than once. However, they don’t seem as happy as Thai people. I think that life is harder here. We also sensed a bit of an “Italian” attitude to customer service sometimes, ie. “Customers?? Does this mean I have to do something? FFS.” Laos people are on the whole less enthusiastic about work than their neighbours.

Laos is frequently hailed as a cycle touring paradise, as it’s beautiful, quiet and more remote than its neighbours. The scenery was mind-blowing, but to be honest I felt more connection with the other three countries we visited.

Vietnam

Time spent in Vietnam: 44 days

Miles cycled: 1297

Average distance per travel day: 48 miles (over 27 travel days)

Average spend per day: £27.91

The traffic. Oh my god. We spent quite a lot of time (too long) on highway one, a road which spans almost the entire country… and we saw things, man, we saw things. Most people drive scooters, which are excellent for weaving through the traffic… but as a result, people who drive vehicles inherit the scooter-driving culture, and act like they’re on scooters. It’s a bit scary. And although all vehicles are tolerated, there’s a definite hierarchy going on: the bigger you are, the more priority you have. And vehicles will let you know this with their enormously loud horn!

Having said this, highway one has a hard shoulder, and you can cycle on it. We were fine. You get used to the nuts traffic, and it does make sense in its own way.

Vietnam is a developed country with a large population, so finding places to stay is not a problem if you are in the busier parts (which we were). Sometimes we found it quite hard to find a restaurant in smaller towns.

There were quite a few interesting cities in Vietnam. I liked Hué and Hôi An especially. The food in Vietnam was amazing, and often each region had its own special dish.

The coastline from Quy Nhon to Mūi Né is spectacular, and it was probably my favourite part of our trip. We got to travel beautiful coastal roads in the morning and then stop at gorgeous, and frequently empty, beaches in the afternoon. Surely that is cycle touring paradise!

I loved meeting Vietnamese people. They are a lot of fun! Vietnam is a very energetic place, and unlike Laos, people really, really want your business! We also probably got ripped off here more than anywhere else, but on the whole people were friendly and honest.

Cambodia

Time spent in Cambodia: 17 days

Miles cycled: 447

Average distance per travel day: 56 miles (over 8 travel days)

Average spend per day: £45.13 (we were living it up in Cambodia!)

Cambodia is a lot less developed than Vietnam, but more developed than Laos. After hectic Vietnam it feels nice and quiet, and the drivers are calm and patient. We stuck to main roads (like Laos, you haven’t got much choice) and found the road quality to be fine, though it can be dusty. We also took some dirt roads during day trips, and they were not bad at all.

Cambodia is small, and so most cycle tourists take a similar route. This means you can use blogs to find out information on hotels and restaurants along the way. We tended to book ahead using the Booking.com app, as I’d heard that some guesthouses in rural areas are dives.

Cambodia has beautiful coastal areas with some gorgeous, barely visited islands. It also has some very remote mountains in the west. This aside, the landscape is flat and dull. Very boring… and very hot!

However, there is a lot of interesting history in Cambodia, both ancient and modern. And the people are so lovely! Very warm, genuine and interested to interact with you. For these reasons I felt very engaged with this country, and despite the views on the road being dull, I loved visiting here.

The rest of the stats

Duration of trip: 138 days

Days we travelled: 54%

Days we were sight-seeing (and occasionally, doing not a lot): 46%

Total miles: 3873 miles (includes 367 miles of using our bike during sight-seeing days).

Time by percentage in each country:

Thailand: 37%

Vietnam: 32%

Laos: 18%

Cambodia: 12%

Biggest day: 102 miles in Cambodia

Smallest day: 15 miles in Vietnam

Average miles per day: 47 miles (in Europe it was 46, obviously we’ve improved )

Days cycling on flat terrain: 60%

Days cycling on hilly terrain: 40%

Number of boats taken: 4

Number of trains taken: 1

Days it was sunny or a bit overcast: 89%

Days it rained: 11%

Number of punctures: 4

Number of other problems with the bike, ranging from small niggles to new parts needed: 10

Most we paid for one night at a hotel: £18 in Vietnam

Least we paid for one night at a hotel: £4 in Laos (the one for £18 was nicer!)

Most we paid for a restaurant meal: £15 in Laos (beware those menus which don’t list prices)

Least we paid for a restaurant meal: £1.20 for two bowls of noodles and two drinks in Thailand

Number of traffic accidents witnessed: 2, one in Vietnam, one in Cambodia, both were mild and nobody was hurt

Days I was ill: 2

Days Eric was ill: 7

I am counting “days we were ill” as days where illness stopped us from doing an activity we wanted to do. To be honest there were quite a few more days where we didn’t feel 100%.

Why was Eric ill a lot more than me? Eric is just a delicate flower, and I cared more about eating “safe” things than he did. I’m sure there’s also a bit of luck involved.

Number of times we were stopped by the police: 0! This was a pleasant surprise. In Thailand a policeman did stop us to take a photo with us. Then a couple of days later a policeman called us over to give us a free map. We also smiled and waved at a lot of police as we passed through checkpoints. We have only had good experiences with the police in these countries. We had a lot more problems in Europe!

Statistics I would be interested to know, but don’t…

Number of times we didn’t get what we thought we ordered at a restaurant

Number of times we exchanged hellos and waves with people (surely in the thousands!)

Number of 7 eleven jumbo banana muffins we ate (a lot. It was a lot)

Today’s statistics were brought to you by the P&E Tandem Team. Hope you enjoyed!

]]>https://captainofthebackseat.wordpress.com/2016/04/18/our-south-east-asian-tandem-cycle-tour-the-route-and-the-stats/feed/6img_2659-1captainofthebackseatMap: Penny and Eric's South East Asian tandem cycle tour!Chiang Rai's famous white templeThe mountains of northern LaosThe coastline of South VietnamOne of the temples of Angkor WatDoing not a lot on a beach in VietnamTaking the slow boat to Luang Prabang in LaosA puncture in Aranyaprathet, ThailandA Thai policeman who wanted a photoThe tandem teamBack to Bangkok: and so our tale is done.https://captainofthebackseat.wordpress.com/2016/04/16/back-to-bangkok-and-so-our-tale-is-done/
https://captainofthebackseat.wordpress.com/2016/04/16/back-to-bangkok-and-so-our-tale-is-done/#commentsSat, 16 Apr 2016 13:02:26 +0000http://captainofthebackseat.wordpress.com/?p=3595]]>Thursday 7th April

Miles on a train: probably about 120

Miles cycled: 15

After an unexpected day off on the 6th (I caught whatever Eric had – it was the final revenge of the cucumber slice) we were on our way.

Would we be able to get our tandem onto the train from Sakeo to Bangkok? The answer was: yes, without any problem. Tickets were 50 baht each, plus 90 baht for the tandem, making a total of about £3.50 (listen up National Rail!).

Today was our last day, and I was experiencing this knowledge like a slow punch to the stomach.

My memory of our time cycle touring is slinky-like, in that it warps between feeling very long and very short (though once you start imagining it going down the stairs by itself, the analogy somewhat falls apart).

Just over a year ago we were cycling through the farmland of Northern France after our first night in a field. I remember being knackered, numb from cold and extremely happy. I later learned that this broadly sums up cycle touring.

But today we had been forced to break the rules and take a train. “At least we won’t have to cycle into Bangkok,” said Eric. Good point Eric.

The line between the Thai countryside and Bangkok is very blurred. The odd house started appearing between the fields. Then a market. Then more fields. Then a gigantic freeway. Then more fields. Then a few rivers, houses, different marketplaces. More fields. And then suddenly we had arrived at Hua Lamphong Station.

Men getting their hair cut by the tracks.

Our plan was to take one of the many waiting songthaews to my Khun Yai’s house, where we would be staying. After twenty minutes of looking and asking, it turned out that there were no waiting songthaews. Only tuk-tuks and taxis, with their unimpressive non-tandem sized back seats.

“We could always cycle there,” I suggested gently to Eric. (He doesn’t like changes of plan. Also, let’s be fair, he would be the one steering the bike through the Bangkok traffic.)

“I really, really don’t want to do that,” said Grumpy Eric.

In the end we agreed to cycle in the direction of Chockchai 4 and stop if we saw an available songthaew. This was code for: we might be cycling the whole way.

As for our bent axle – it just had to get us there.

I was quite cheerful about being forced to cycle. It was our last day – it was good to cross the finish line by bike. I decided against pointing out the symbolism of it all to Eric, as he was busy negotiating a four lane road in the midday heat of the hottest city in the world.

I’ll tell him later, I thought.

Five months spent in mainly rural areas made Bangkok’s bigness and shininess seem even bigger and shinier. We gaped at the sight of glass skyscrapers and the sound of amassed, throbbing engines while we waited at two minute red lights.

Two minute red lights were followed by thirty second green lights. We slowly made our way (all the time ignoring the sound the back wheel was making) starting in China Town, past Lumphini Park, along the expressway, underneath the sky train stop for Siam Paragon and Central Plaza, and then we were seeing the subway stops we knew: Thailand Cultural Center, Sutthisan, and finally Ratchadapisek, where our next point of reference were the giant model dinosaurs outside of a nearby hotel. We counted the road signs all the way from Lad Phrao 1 right up to Lad Phrao 53, where we turned onto Chockchai 4.

And then it was just a short cycle to the last turning, where we would find Khun Yai’s house.

There is a definite strangeness to revisiting a familiar place by bicycle. When we made that first trip from Bristol to Eastbourne I remember feeling a blank amazement as, near the end of our journey, we rode past my old secondary school. I looked at it thinking nothing more than “That’s my old school!!” Coaches and trains had split Bristol and Eastbourne into two separate universes; cycling from one to the other had joined them together, and this weird feeling was making my head do backflips.

The oneness of the universe aside, our arrival back at Khun Yai’s house was pretty quiet and normal. The dog started barking as we pulled up, and Khun Yai came out. “You’re here!” she said. “It’s hot. Are you hungry?”

Yes, yes and yes. It’s good to be back!

And the big cycle tour, five years in the making, one year in the doing, was over. I’ve left enough jobs and moved out of enough houses to know that there’s not much point trying to digest it all in one go. We did it, and I would begin to think about that later, but right now let’s have lunch, and a shower, and then maybe a nap.

We now have one month left until we fly back to the UK, and we plan to spend this time in and around Phuket, doing regular tourist things. I am very aware that back in the days of employment one month would have almost been my ENTIRE YEAR’S holiday. So we are very lucky! And blog-wise, I will post an image of the overall route and some of the stats soon.

I’m going to try and be sincere now for at least a few sentences.

It’s been a privilege to see a small part of this amazing world on the back of a tandem. And I’m grateful to the people we met who helped us, were interested to talk with us, or even just smiled and said “hello”. The world would be a lonely place to travel without such people around.

I’m also thankful to our friends and family who have given us lots of support and stayed in touch with us through the magic of modern technology (including aeroplanes – hey Steve).

Every day I trusted Eric to keep both of us safe on the road, and he earned my trust every single day with his steadfast steering, unwavering concentration, impeccable judgement and the ability to thread our tandem through the eye of a metaphorical needle. Thank you Eric. Sorry that I called you “grumpy” about fifty times on this blog.

I’m sad it’s over and I’m happy it’s over, and I’m proud that we did it and I’m also slightly hungry. So you see I have a lot of feelings right now. (There goes the sincerity. I did try.)

Thank you for reading (don’t worry, I’m back to being sincere). Really, thanks a lot. I hope you enjoyed it.

Now all we need is a sunset, and then I think we’re done…

The sun sets over Phromthep Cape, Phuket.

]]>https://captainofthebackseat.wordpress.com/2016/04/16/back-to-bangkok-and-so-our-tale-is-done/feed/8img_2625-1captainofthebackseatMap: Sakeo to BangkokTandem on a train - Sakeo to BangkokHaircuts in Hua Lamphong StationCycling through BangkokCycling through BangkokCycling through BangkokCycling through BangkokPhromthep Cape, PhuketFrom Siem Reap to Sakeo: where I briefly entertained the idea that our trip was being prematurely ended by a cucumberhttps://captainofthebackseat.wordpress.com/2016/04/12/from-siem-reap-to-sakeo-where-i-briefly-entertained-the-idea-that-our-trip-was-being-prematurely-ended-by-a-cucumber/
https://captainofthebackseat.wordpress.com/2016/04/12/from-siem-reap-to-sakeo-where-i-briefly-entertained-the-idea-that-our-trip-was-being-prematurely-ended-by-a-cucumber/#commentsTue, 12 Apr 2016 13:00:36 +0000http://captainofthebackseat.wordpress.com/?p=3578]]>Friday 1st April

Miles: 73

Today the landscape was amazing.

… April Fools! Ho! Ho!

As much as I have loved Cambodia, it’s scenery is nothing to write home about, unless you are complaining… which I kind of am. Sorry, Cambodia.

We left at a late-ish 8AM from our guesthouse in Siem Reap, because there was no way we were going to miss the complimentary breakfast. We headed out onto the long, straight, flat road.

I was pretty bored today, and so was Eric. One of the nice things about being on a tandem is that it’s easy to talk to each other, but this boring landscape seemed to make us just as dull. Several times I thought: let’s talk about something interesting… and then… my brain basically did a bored shrug. We mostly cycled in silence.

We glugged litres of water and fizzy drinks, and stopped at midday to eat some leftover bananas. It was hot.

An annoying headwind cut our speed by about a third for most of the time, and we arrived in Sisophon at 3PM feeling shattered, checking in to the excellently-named Botoum Hotel (sounds like a sort of Hyacinth Bucket equivalent of the word “Bottom”).

We had originally planned to go north into Laos and have three days relaxing in the 4000 Islands region… but we changed our minds when we realised the route would involve several enormous distances all in a row. There’s not much point going somewhere specifically to relax for three days, if you have to kill yourself for four days in order to get there. So to Thailand we go!

The Poipet/Aranyaprathet border is notorious for corruption and bribery. Luckily we were travelling in the un-corrupt direction of Cambodia to Thailand, and didn’t have to use a bus, which is apparently where a lot of the scamming action happens.

It was quite straightforward, but as borders go the atmosphere was much less pleasant than the other borders we’ve crossed. Everyone seemed stressed.

We were required to have all of our fingerprints scanned as we exited Cambodia. I didn’t really like it, but making a fuss at a notorious border crossing seemed like a terrible idea.

Leaving the land of Angkor.

Over on the Thai side things were easy too. We already had our visa, so we just had to fill out an arrival card and go and get things stamped.

We were finally back in Thailand after three months spent visiting Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. I have some relatives and friends here, so Thailand feels like our South East Asian home away from home. It also helps that I can say more than just “Hello”, “Thank you” and “Sorry” here as well!

The glorious homecoming was literally deflated by our back wheel inner tube, just a mile from our booked bungalow. Bollocks.

We changed the inner tube in the full glare of the midday sun, feeling quite grumpy about it. After arriving at our accommodation the grumpiness continued as we went through a whole mundane episode of trying to tell our bank that we were now in Thailand in case they blocked our card (which happened to us in Laos). It all worked out fine eventually – the details are incredibly boring – and we cheered up when we ate lunch.

“I can finally eat raw vegetables again,” said Eric, referring to the cucumber that came with his fried rice.

“You could still get diarrhoea from that,” I said.

“It’ll be fine,” said Eric.

Sunday 3rd April

Rest day

Eric has a bad stomach.

I have no comments on this except to say that I am very sorry for him.

I imagine you have heard of “the butterfly effect”. Well, how about “the cucumber effect”? It’s the same thing, but with a cucumber.

Let me explain.

Eric eats a piece of cucumber and gets an upset stomach. We take a day off from cycling. Hanging around our guesthouse, we have the time to get around to a few jobs that we otherwise wouldn’t have. Eric spends some time carefully inspecting the bike, and he happens to see a crack in the rear wheel hub cup. Lucky, isn’t it? OR IS IT?

While he is lying in the recovery position (that is, splayed out on the bed, holding his phone and watching YouTube videos) I pop into Aranyaprathet town centre with the back wheel to see what I can find.

Google Maps told me that there was a bike shop along the main road, but I had read a bad online review (which I sort of assumed was about this shop). So when a local person pointed me in another direction I quite happily went with what they suggested.

The next twenty minutes were quite fun. Every few minutes, someone who I passed by would ask what I was looking for. I would tell them that I needed to repair my bicycle, and they would point me in a direction. Normally a different direction to the last person. In another situation the contradicting directions might have been annoying, but I was quite happy to walk around and see what turned up. I had faith that by the wisdom of the masses I would eventually be pinged in the right direction.

And I did find my way to a small bike repair shop on Ban Aran Alley. The man there took the hub apart and had a look. The hub cap wasn’t cracked after all, it had just looked like it. This was good news.

He replaced the ball bearings, gave the whole thing a clean and then put it back together again slowly, checking all the time to make sure that the wheel wasn’t wobbling on the axle. He switched the positioning of some of the nuts to help with this.

Later that afternoon, Eric reattached the wheel to the bike, and after a lot of fiddling to get it in the perfect spot, we found that the wheel had become untrue. In other words, it was wonky. This means that there is a risk of broken spokes, and a possibility of the wheel rubbing the brake pads. It wasn’t the handyman’s fault as he had a wheel to work with, not a wheel and a bike. But something he had done – or the mere act of removing and reattaching the wheel – had changed the wheel’s alignment.

The fact is that the slice of cucumber really screwed us over.

Monday 4th April

Miles: 38

Eric’s stomach was still not really better this morning, but he wasn’t going to let a little thing like the risk of pooping himself stop him.

Now there’s a pilot who I can respect.

The bike’s wobbling back wheel was our biggest worry. It was all going OK until about 25 miles in, when it loosened enough to start rubbing hard against one of the brake pads.

Eric got the number 17 spanner out and tightened up the nuts (you can just about see him crouched behind the bike).

We got back on. The wheel came loose again.

We got back off. Eric tightened it again, and this time widened the brake pads.

Now the wheel wasn’t rubbing anymore. Just.

We cycled on, slowly. We are meant to be heading to Khao Yai National Park, but Eric was talking about just getting a train to Bangkok. He hates it when he “Can’t rely on the bike.”

“We can still make it!” said the person who doesn’t fix the bike (me).

We had planned to travel around 60 miles today, but decided to stop early in Sakeo to try and find a bike shop. After a hot and stressful search we found a place. What a relief. (You can find it along road 33 on the side with vehicles travelling in the direction of Aranyaprathet.)

We pointed to our axle and made a wonky finger gesture to describe our problem. The mechanic took a look and went with trueing the wheel instead. The wheel was now turning straight, which was a great improvement.

But our bike worries are not over. The wonky wheel is a symptom. The bent axle is the CAUSE. So… the cucumber is exonerated on this count, as the bent axle must have been a while coming. But it was a good story, wasn’t it?

Luck dealt us a pity-card in the form of a hotel room (River Resort & Spa – a bit expensive but quite nice) near to a Big C supermarket, which had a KFC and an MK Restaurant attached. We discussed what to do from the comfort of an air conditioned chain restaurant that evening.

Tuesday 5th April

Miles: 2

Email communication with the owner of Mong Cycles, who had helped us out in Chiang Mai, had confirmed our suspicion that soldiering on with a bent axle was a bad idea. It wasn’t going to last long. We needed to get it fixed.

Internet research told us that the nearest bike shop (that we hadn’t already tried) was in Nakhon Nayok, 63 miles away. The plan was to hire a songthaew there and get it fixed up. Upon telling the hotel receptionist our plan and asking for some help in finding a taxi, I received a dubious look.

“Nakhon Nayok… you know we are in Sakeo?” she said.

Not a good sign.

The staff discussed options, but it was clear that a taxi was not one of them. The tone of the conversation was reaching “What are we going to tell her?” when a short, grey-haired man with a moustache walked in. And what do you know, he was an organiser of a cycling group. He knew of a bicycle repair shop just a couple of kilometres away. In fact, he was heading there now, and could take us in his van, if we wanted?

Wow. YES!

Our bicycle was stored in his van, and we were offered seats in the minibus in between tubs of chopped tropical fruits.

Sakeo Bicycles is such a useful shop, and you would never suspect its existence unless you were told about it, as it pops up out of nowhere along a road full of private residences. So for anyone out there who needs to know – here’s a screen shot of Sakeo Bicycle’s location as determined by our GPS (it might not be 100% accurate, mind, but it should send you in the right direction).

We arrived at Sakeo Bicycles and met the cycling group. They were taking part in a twelve day cycle from Ho Chi Minh City to Bangkok, with the benefit of a support bus to whizz them past the boring bits. I have no doubts that I prefer a DIY trip, but as we had just experienced, a support vehicle comes in handy now and again! Anyway, it was nice to meet these guys.

As one of the cycling group leaders inspected our back wheel, a man told us that the person looking our bike over was an ex-champion cyclist! In the name of The Blog I subtlety took a photo…

(In case you’re wondering which guy it is, it’s the one that looks like an ex-champion cyclist.)

One of the other group leaders provided detailed translation between us and the bike shop owner. At last, we could be confident that we were fully explaining ourselves. After a couple of minutes’ search, the shop owner came out holding a new hub and axle, declaring that he had the right part. Yes!

The group bid us a cheerful goodbye and got on their way. After a few more minutes the drivers of the support vehicles departed with our many thanks. We settled down to watch our bike being fixed.

The mechanic took the wheel apart. We saw him look from our axle to the new axle, back to our axle… back to the new axle. He shook his head. It wasn’t the right part after all. It was too small.

“Find part only in Bangkok,” he said.

The fact is that our old, bulky tandem needs an unusually long axle.

The mechanic carefully cleaned and reassembled our wheel, which was all he could do. “Ride to Bangkok… maybe,” he said. We all laughed.

The mechanic of Sakeo Bicycles.

In this blog, I can report events as if one naturally followed the other. In reality, as with most choices, every decision we made involved the rejection of other possible solutions, and we were second-guessing ourselves all the time. Now, finally, after three visits to repairmen in the last three days, this news felt like a doctor’s order. It was time to go back to Bangkok. And not by bicycle.

We had been so close to making it all the way! If only poor bikey had held on just a little bit longer…

That evening, in our hotel room I was down in the dumps. I didn’t want our cycle tour to end this way… broken at the very last leg. “Make me feel better,” I said to Eric.

“There, there,” he said.

Pause.

“Maybe we would have died if we’d cycled in,” said Eric.

“I suppose,” I said. That did make me feel a bit better.

“Maybe the bike knew. We tried to fix it three times and it just kept breaking down. Maybe it’s PROTECTING us.”

Further discussion confirmed the likelihood of this theory, and eventually I did the only decent thing and made a heartfelt apology to the bike for ever doubting it.

Angkor Wat is a collection of temples that make up the largest religious complex in the world, and it represents the pinnacle of the ancient Khmer civilisation. It is so important to Cambodian people that it is featured on their flag. You might say that it’s a pretty big deal!

After a day’s rest we spent two quite intense days exploring the temples, with another day off afterwards – it was quite hard work cycling and walking in the heat.

We visited a lot of temples and took a lot of photos. Here’s the highlights…

Angkor Wat is the biggest and most well-preserved temple.

Next we moved onto the Bayon Temple, which was one of my favourites. It was crowded with shambolic towers, each bearing a giant face. Walking through the ruined passages and doorways felt like being in a maze.

Kravan Temple. One of the fun things about Angkor Wat is that you are allowed to climb up steep, crumbling steps and move through the temples as you want (within reason).

In Banteay Kdei a female monk gave us a bracelet for “Happiness and long life”.

Viewpoint opposite Banteay Kdei.

East Meborn Temple.

Another one of my favourites – Ta Som Temple. The older temples felt like true ruins, with collapsing structures and scattered stone everywhere. I loved that nobody had tried to clear the temples up too much. They seemed to be left as they’d been found as much as possible.

Preah Khan Temple.

Carvings nearby the Terrace of the Elephants (not sure what temple this was actually part of).

Ta Prohm (apparently used as a set for Tomb Raider). The trees in this temple were amazing! Ta Prohm has been left in the jungle, and we walked around the temple to the throbbing sounds of the birds and the bugs.

This was an amazing and unmissable place to visit while in Cambodia. But if you get the chance to come here, remember…

Five months ago, we sat in the living room of my parents’ house and planned our South East Asian route. From Bangkok, we decided that we would head north first, to make the most of the cool season, and to challenge ourselves with mountains before we got too lazy. Then we would turn east and travel down the coast, to benefit from the cool sea breezes and be on the right side of the prevailing wind. It was a good plan, but it had a weak link: we would have to head south and inland just as the hot season really got going.

A couple of months back we had been told that there were big roadworks between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, which made cycling really difficult.

For these two reasons, I had been spending some time looking at a map of Cambodia, willing there to be a better route to Siem Reap than National Highway 6. I researched taking a boat, cycling a much longer route along NH5 and even skipping Phnom Penh and going over the Cardamom Mountains in the south west. For one reason or another all of these options seemed like a worse choice for us.

Finally, without much enthusiasm I accepted that our best choice was NH6.

We set off by 8AM, and didn’t have too much trouble leaving Phnom Penh. We pedalled out into a flat, dry, very thirsty-looking landscape.

Later in the morning palm trees started appearing, which livened things up a bit.

The roofs of roadside stalls were built with these palm leaves.

While the landscape was dull, the people were fun! Lots of waves, big smiles and greetings kept us from sinking into a stupor as we pedalled. When we stopped to buy a drink at stalls or petrol stations, chairs would often be set out for us, and questions would be asked in English or Khmer. Cambodian people are really making me love Cambodia.

A girl at the petrol station has a go on the back seat.

By midday we arrived in the attractively-named(!) Skun. I had read that the best-looking restaurants are out of town, so we stopped near them in a decent place called the Phnom Meas Hotel ($15 for an air conditioned room – we are living it up these days!).

Skun has an interesting local speciality, which I was (sort of) interested to try. It’s spider.

When in Skun…!

We found these beauties at a small marketplace near our hotel. As soon as I saw them I got the heebeegeebies and started saying “Oh my god” and giggling like an insane person.

The woman at the stall took one and put it into my hand. It was about as long as my palm, and I could see the hairs on its back!

“2000 riel for one,” she told us.

It was almost certainly a tourist-inflated price, but seeing as it was still only 35p we happily paid and left with our spider in a little plastic bag.

Later, back at the hotel room…

Remember, it’s more scared of you than you are of it.

After the obligatory spider-eating poses were completed we each nibbled on a leg (Eric suggested recreating a certain famous scene from Lady and the Tramp) before gaining confidence and going in for the full chomp. Eric had the top half, I had the bottom half.

It was dry and crispy, with a salty, shrimpy taste, which I think came more from the seasoning than the spider. It took me quite a long time to chew the abdomen, and I was quite glad once I managed to swallow it. But basically once it was eaten, I concluded that it was really not a big deal.

I also concluded that I now never had to eat a spider ever again.

Saturday 26th March

Miles: 64

Still full of delicious spider, we just had one small leftover banana for breakfast. It was in fact too hot for us to feel hungry. All day, we only wanted water and fizzy drinks.

Today’s sights from the road…

A traditional ceremony for a young boy and a young girl. They are dressed in ornate clothing and are flanked by the villages’ inhabitants, who are carrying offerings. As we passed, somebody started banging a gong.

We also passed by a few weddings, which looked quite western, with marquees, chairs with a cover and bow over them, and people in suits and dresses. There was always insanely loud Cambodian music blasting out.

Some kids enjoy our slipstream for half a mile.

There were a lot of stalls selling this plant. If anyone knows what it is please let me know, I would be interested to find out.

We thought we were drinking lots, but it was still not enough. By the time we reached the Seng Chhen Horn Guesthouse both of us had headaches and felt exhausted. (I would really recommend this guesthouse by the way, it’s a nice place and the staff are excellent. $8 for a room with a fan.)

After dragging ourselves to the bakery next door for lunch, we passed out in our room. I woke up at 3.30PM still trying to fend off a headache and generally feeling rough.

I would have quite liked to just lie in bed and drink water, but there are some interesting ruins called the Sambor Prey Kuk Temples nearby that I didn’t want to miss. I had heard about them from Bethy, who I met with in Phnom Penh.

Eric was even more tired than I was, so I left him napping and arranged some transport with the hotel staff ($15 there and back in a tuk-tuk, and $3 entry to the ruins). I was going quite late in the day, but would still be able to make it to the main sites.

This was my driver, an English-speaking, all-round good guy called Socktin.

As it was getting late he offered to drive me from site to site, and even gave me a pretty decent guided tour.

The temples are spread out within a forest, and were built by various Angkor kings between the fifth and seventh century (before Angkor Wat). The Angkor empire was once very powerful, and controlled almost all of South East Asia.

It’s quite amazing how well preserved some of these temples are (though many were beautifully dishevelled piles of brick).

The temples were dedicated to the Hindu gods. Local people still come here to pray, though nowadays Cambodia is a Buddhist country.

Socktin told me that there is a door at the front for people, and a blocked off door at the side, which is where the gods can enter and exit.

This was the most amazing temple. It was completely covered in a strangler tree.

Socktin also showed me a pond that used to be full, but was now more of a puddle. He said that in the last few years the rain has hardly come, the heat has risen and the farmers find it harder to grow their crops. A few months ago a park ranger in the north of Thailand told us a similar thing: it hasn’t rained for five years in some areas surrounding Chiang Mai, the river is getting lower and farmers may have to stop growing rice and start producing something less water-dependent. Is South East Asia getting hotter and dryer?

We took the scenic route back, passing through small villages as dusk fell. There were plenty of kids playing and quite a few people cycling along holding a chubby baby in one arm.

After many thanks to Socktin I got back to the hotel room, tried my best to force down some food, showered and slept.

Sunday 27th March

Miles: 102

We were feeling quite tired and achy as we set off this morning. We had decided to take care of ourselves a bit better today, and bought a stodgy banana muffin each for breakfast.

While at the bakery we met a Taiwanese cycle tourist who was travelling in the opposite direction. During the usual information swap he gave us some welcome news: the road condition from here to Siem Reap was good. We’d been waiting for the terrible road works we’d been warned about to appear, but it looked like they were all over, and we were the lucky ones who got a nice new road to cycle on!

With a decent breakfast and more stops for drinks we were in much better shape, and reached our target – Kampong Kdei – before midday. We had a look at the Ngov Peang guesthouse, but found the room on offer to be quite depressing. It was early and we were feeling good, so we decided to push on to Siem Reap.

Stopping at a nearby petrol station, we bought cookies and drinks, and then used the wifi to book ourselves a nice guesthouse in Siem Reap. Now we were committed to getting there.

The scenery has been pretty dull and same-y, but it has given us a chance to see what rural Cambodian houses look like.

Because Cambodia has such a small population, houses can be spread out from each other, and my guess would be that people essentially build them where they like in rural areas. They are typically on stilts and made of wood, with a wide yard and a surrounding stick fence. They are also often surrounded by lots of trees, and always look slightly unique.

Today we would be smashing our cycle touring personal best of 79 miles. We actually made this distance on our third day, cycling from Alton to Eastbourne. On that day we were inexperienced, pulling a lot of unnecessary weight and navigating a fairly complex route with a few hills thrown in. It had taken us 12 very hard hours in the saddle.

Today we were carrying a lot less and just had to keep plodding down one straight, flat road. Aside from the heat, the situation was right for us to wrack up a lot of miles.

Stopping at a stall for a drink in the shade.

Entering Siem Reap.

The last fifteen miles were hard, but we were proud to finally break the 100 mile mark… and really glad to arrive at our lovely air conditioned room in Siem Reap! We’d started at 7AM and finished at 3.30PM. We were very tired. The only thing that could make us drag ourselves from our room was the thought of dinner.

Happy.

(While we were eating at this restaurant the couple next to us told another person: “Yeah, we’ve had a really long journey today.” You should have seen Eric’s face!)

When I went out without Eric, I got approached perhaps 10% of the times he did. Maybe my tanned skin hides me, or maybe it’s because men don’t approach women much in this culture. I wonder if it’s the latter, because at restaurants the waiters have tended to address Eric, and not me. I quickly decided that I could handle the invisibility if it hides me from the salesmen.

There are people keen to earn a living here, that’s for sure. Most take “No thanks,” for an answer, though occasionally we were trailed with repeated requests for us to take the guided tour or the tuk-tuk. Generally, though, it’s with a grin and some light-hearted banter, so we haven’t minded it too much.

The city has a poor feel as capital cities go – which isn’t too surprising, but it does have its grand buildings, and the mighty Mekong always looks impressive. I think that due to the time of year it’s low season, as there seemed to be a whole lot more tuk-tuk drivers than tourists (all of which were converging upon poor white male Eric).

The mighty Mekong, with a boat carrying… mud? At least I hope it’s mud.

Speaking a little more of poor white male Eric… it wasn’t just the tuk-tuk drivers who took a special interest in him. I inadvertently booked a hotel in the middle of one of the Red Light District areas, and as soon as Eric was away from my reassuring feminine presence, the Cambodian ladies hanging around the bars were very keen to get to know him.

As we walked down a fifty metre stretch of road one evening, Eric was offered drugs by several different men. “Hey, you want drugs? Skunk? Heroin? Opium?”

OPIUM??? What is this, nineteenth century China?

Maybe he thought we were hipsters?

I tried to take a picture of our street but it came out very blurry. Just imagine that you’re seeing it through a big skunk opium bender-haze.

A lot of the girls at the bars looked like teenagers, and a lot of their potential customers looked quite old. It was a bit sad to see.

Day one, and we set off to see the sights…

Wat Phnom is set atop Phnom Penh’s only hill (37 metres tall) and legend has it the very first pagoda was built here in the 1300s, to house four Buddha statues which washed up on the banks of the Mekong.

Giant clock.

We took a look at Phnom Penh’s central post office and surrounding square, which has examples of old French Colonial-style architecture. It was a charming but smaller version of what we saw in Ho Chi Minh City.

We walked through the Old Market and Phsar Kandal Market – places where local people buy fruit, meat, other foods, jewellery and more. We both enjoyed seeing these places. It was an interesting experience.

Tiny stalls spilling into each other, all dimly seen under the cover of broad umbrellas. Narrow, dirty walkways used by pedestrians and people on motorbikes alike. Colour, noise, and smells of fish, cooked meat, rotten meat, smoke, diesel and sugar mingling together in the heavy air.

Meat hung from hooks. Meat laid out on tables. Plucked chickens. All lying in the heat with the flies buzzing around. One of the cycling blogs I read advised avoiding meat in rural Cambodia. After walking through this market I think I can see why! The attitude to keeping meat out in 35 degree heat is pretty casual. These people must have iron constitutions.

The most shocking thing was the fish. Many times we saw fish laid out in metal trays still alive, thrashing, jumping around and slowly suffocating to death. From the point of view of the sellers/buyers we could see the value of keeping the fish fresh for as long as possible, but I did feel sorry for them.

After this we saw Wat Ounalom, which is known as the foundation of Cambodian Buddhism. Unlike Wat Phnom, it was empty of other tourists when we saw it. We shared the courtyard with some monks and what looked like a homeless family that were staying there.

This temple suffered much destruction during the Pol Pot era, but has now been fully restored. Statues that were once hurled into the Mekong were found, repaired and put back.

In the afternoon we went to see what is probably Phnom Penh’s biggest tourist attraction: the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda.

Some photos of the Royal Palace.

The designs are based on the Thai Royal Palace, and the place did indeed look very similar.

Lots of beautiful rooftop designs.

The Silver Padoga is so-called because of the interior’s silver floor.

It houses the renowned Emerald Buddha. No photos are allowed, but I can reveal that he’s about as big as a medium cat, and he’s very green.

Amazing stupas.

We had dubbed day two as “genocide day”, as we would be seeing the Genocide Museum in the morning and the Killing Fields in the afternoon.

(Here’s a quick historical context: from 1975-1979 the Khmer Rouge, a political party purporting to hold communist/nationalist ideals, took control of Cambodia. Wanting to return the country to a more “simple” life, they forced everyone out of the cities to work as farmers, growing rice.

They murdered anyone deemed to be an “intellectual”. For example, if you were an engineer, a doctor, a teacher, or someone who wore glasses, had fillings, or “soft hands”, you were killed. Your family were killed too.

The Khmer Rouge banned art (unless it glorified their leader) and religion, and destroyed many temples and items of cultural significance. They also banned banks, private ownership and family relationships.

The Khmer Rouge had no idea about farming, and worked many people to death under terrible conditions. They also felt that they had to “purify” the population by getting rid of any traitors, and rounded up so-called traitors, torturing them into false confessions before killing them. They made no distinctions between men, women and children. The regime gradually became so paranoid that some prominent party members were labelled as traitors and killed – in the end, almost nobody was safe, except for “Brother Number One”, or Pol Pot, as he is better known.

The regime fell apart after just four years, but in this time their actions had caused the deaths of approximately 3 million people, which at the time was 25% of the entire population.)

The Genocide Museum is housed in the infamous S-21 building. Once a school, S-21 was converted into a prison where the Khmer Rouge tortured civilians into confessing their “crimes”, before moving them on to be murdered.

The rules of S-21.

You walk through the rooms where torture and imprisonment happened.

A torture room.

A floor full of tiny cells, used to house prisoners under interrogation.

There are rooms full of photographs, of both Khmer Rouge members…

And their victims.

The whole regime was shrouded in secrecy. People were blindfolded before they were brought to S-21, and had no idea where they were. Efforts were made to muffle screams during torture, so that other prisoners would not hear what was happening. When prisoners were eventually transported to be killed, they were simply told they were being moved to a different place. At the bottom level, Khmer Rouge recruits were poorly educated and easily manipulated, and for most of the Khmer Rouge’s reign, almost nobody knew who the party leader was.

After a quick (and depressed) lunch we went on to the Killing Fields. This is the place where prisoners from S-21 were taken to be murdered once their “confessions” had been extracted. As the regime was drawing to a close, 300 people were killed here per day. The Khmer Rouge couldn’t afford bullets, so soldiers killed by bludgeoning the back of the head and then slitting the throat. Usually this was done to patriotic music played on loudspeakers, so as to keep what was going on a secret from the other prisoners. What a nightmare image that presents.

This is the “Killing Tree”. Soldiers killed young children by swinging them against it. You wonder what they were thinking as they killed children and babies? Had they just switched off by this point?

The final stop is the memorial building. Inside a chamber of skulls rises up high.

It felt important to come here to acknowledge what happened and to understand what Cambodia has had to come back from. You can use words like “mad”, “evil”, “deranged” and “horrifying”, and they seem like one drop of water in an ocean of what it would take to describe this tragedy.

Back to the present. Eric’s lunch had evidently been a bit dodgy, because he reported feeling queasy just before we had an incredibly bouncy tuk-tuk ride, which took us past several open sewers that were reacting very enthusiastically to the 35 degree heat. Eric looked pale but bravely insisted that we go on. Still feeling sick, he then sat in the shade listening to an audio-guide about genocide, before taking a very slow walk around to look at some mass graves and bone fragments. So for Eric it was the double-whammy: learning about one of the most depressing tragedies of modern history, all while coping with mild food poisoning.

That evening I left (poor white male) Eric in bed and went to meet a member of the Warm Showers community, Bethy. (Warm Showers is a community that provides free accommodation and a social network for cycle tourists.)

She suggested we meet at a place called Momma Wong’s, a tapas-style restaurant that serves amazing dumplings. We talked about a lot of things, but one of the things in particular I wanted to know was – in her experience as a resident of Phnom Penh, are Cambodians as a whole still traumatised from what happened during the Pol Pot era?

I will paraphrase her answer, which was a lot more eloquently and sensitively put (though Bethy also wanted me to know that she was by no means an expert): yes, generally speaking the trauma of what happened has been passed on. In particular, people are not able to express grief about personal matters, because there is a feeling that the whole country is in pain. To extrapolate from this, I think the attitude is: “Everyone has pain, so what makes my pain so special that I should burden other people with it?” At the same time, Cambodian people have made an incredible recovery considering all that happened. They are getting on with things, and this in itself is an achievement.

It was great to meet with Bethy and learn about what she does, and gain a bit more insight into life in Phnom Penh. This really was turning out to be an interesting city.

Day three, and in the morning we walked to Wat Kean Kleang (on our map called Wat Mongkal Serei Keang Klang). This is a less-visited stunningly gold temple.

Maybe things always look better when you’ve walked a few miles in the blistering sun to see them (it was so hot!!). But we thought this was place was good.

Next to it was an older temple, which was also very beautiful.

That afternoon we finally gave in to temptation and took a tuk-tuk to an air-conditioned mall. (The Aeon Mall.) Ice cream! Burgers! Shops! Oh wow.

Eric considers buying a hat.

I was trying to make him try on a much more embarrassing hat (it was pink and said “SEX” in big blingy letters). This hat was actually the compromise.

A “claw” machine for glasses.

A final fish amok in a coconut that evening at the Titanic Restaurant (thanks for the tip, Bethy!) and our time in Phnom Penh was over.

What an interesting, intense experience this city was.

Next we will be cycling to Siem Reap to see the largest religious monument in the world. No, it’s not your Easter egg, it’s Angkor Wat!

After an uneventful journey we checked in to Captain Chim’s Guesthouse. We liked this place, it offered free drinking water, free laundry and good, cheap meals. Captain Chim himself is a rather serious man (or a “surly old captain” as Eric put it) but him and his family will do what they can to help you arrange any excursions.

Also highly recommended from fellow cycle tourers is Kampot River Bungalows, accommodation set in a beautiful spot by the river.

There isn’t all that much to see in Kampot itself – the most exciting thing we saw was this:

A giant durian in the middle of a roundabout.

Though there are a lot of good places to eat.

We enjoyed the well known Epic Arts Cafe, run by people with disabilities or learning difficulties. I’ve read that in Cambodia there is still a lot of stigma against people with mental or physical disability, so this is quite a special place. The menu includes some basic Khmer sign language.

And the food we had was excellent. (I had a cream cheese bagel with roasted veg.)

There is also a tiny art gallery upstairs.

For a cheap and tasty dinner, Ecram’s Noodles & Dumplings is the place to go. The chefs make the noodles from flour right before your eyes.

On day one we pedalled back the way we’d come to see some caves and a lake between Kampot and Kep.

We hit the dirt roads and cycled by little houses and basic shops. It was great to finally see a bit of non-touristy Cambodia.

The people in villages were very friendly. The standard of living looked quite poor.

Our first stop was Phnom Chhnork Temple (odd spelling, I know). This small pre-Angkor temple is set in a cave. We paid a dollar each and went to take a look.

It was beautiful and quiet. We were lucky – nobody else was here, though a tour group arrived as we left.

Outside a couple of guys were admiring our bike. One of them asked us how much it had cost. As soon as I told them that we paid $1000 I wished that I hadn’t. How long would it take them to make $1000, and would they ever be able to use an amount like that as disposable income? Around here, the difference in our wealth – an accident of birthplace – felt like a dirty secret.

Next we made our way to the Secret Lake.

It’s a lake. You can swim if you want to.

Why is it called the Secret Lake? The reason is a grim one. The Khmer Rouge (Pol Pot’s lot) commanded the villagers in the area to build a dam in order to create this lake. During this time they were fighting the Vietnamese, and so they killed the villagers in order to stop them revealing the lake’s location. One villager apparently escaped, and so the secret got out. A sad story.

Finally, we made our way to the White Elephant Cave. We did some educated guessing about its location, but finally found the official sign!

As we climbed the stone stairs up to the caves, a local teenage boy began following us silently. “I guess that’s the guide,” we said to each other. In other circumstances I may have been a bit worried if a silent seventeen-year-old started following me into a cave, but with Eric “I likes punchin’ I dos” Barton around I had no fear.

Before we reached the cave there were some cool temples and statues.

Can you see the elephant?

Our tour guide was very shy, and for the first fifteen minutes literally just followed us around. But then he came into his own. We said: “Can we go this way?” He said “Yes.” We then followed him. This happened maybe four times, the route we took getting ever more rustic until we were scrambling over rocks and being led through the bushes. He had doubled his tip by the end of our tour. (It was quite impressive that he did it all in little plastic sandals.)

That evening we hopped on board Captain Chim’s boat and took a ride along the river Preaek Tuek Chhou.

Day two, and opposed to yesterday’s DIY tourism, today we had opted for a tour group and an air conditioned bus. This was because we wanted to visit Bokor National Park, but didn’t fancy cycling up a 26 mile hill (gotten soft).

The bus was cramped and the hotel pickups in the morning seemed eternal, but finally we got there. This national park is an odd place. A tonne of investment is currently being poured into it, but a lot of its charm lies in the fact that it’s weird and derelict.

First we visited King Sihanouk’s old summer retreat, two fairly modest-looking houses. King Sihanouk fled Cambodia in the 1970s when the Khmer Rouge took power.

Graffiti in one of the houses.

We visited some temples and a giant Buddha. They were OK, but nothing that special (I don’t mean to sound flippant, but good god we’ve seen a lot of temples).

We saw a viewpoint… with no view.

The highlight was the old abandoned Catholic church and the old abandoned casino. In the 1980s there was a standoff between the Khmer Rouge, who occupied the church, and the Vietnamese army, who occupied the casino.

Spooky!

Bullet holes? Or maybe someone trying to fit a shelf?

The casino.

Two horror films have been made in this building.

The view from the top of the casino.

Things just don’t feel as special any more when we haven’t cycled to them. On the plus side, we met some nice people, and had the conversation that is yet to grow old: “Isn’t the driving in Vietnam nuts?!!!”

That was Kampot. Now we turn inland. A two day journey will take us to Cambodia’s capitol, Phnom Penh. The hot, dusty roads beckon…

The sand on this beach is imported from nearby Kampot, and has to be dragged up the beach every single morning to prevent it from washing away.

This is what actual Kep sand looks like.

Artificiality aside, Kep beach is great. It’s very quiet and it has a tonne of convenience for tourists. Whilst we were not being immersed in Cambodian culture by any stretch of the imagination, it is really nice to have a wide variety of clean-looking restaurants and an ATM round the corner. In some touristy areas you get a feeling that the local people are sick of your type (I’ve worked in customer services, I get it). But Kep’s locals are lovely, friendly and helpful.

There is another side to Kep: back in the French Colonial days it was full of fancy houses, which are now derelict, and apparently quite eerie. But we were staying right by the beach, and were blissfully unaware of the “creepy, run-down” bits!

Some pictures of the beach.

The famous white lady statue, known as “the woman who waits for her man” in Khmer.

She’s meant to be naked, but apparently local conservatives have covered her in clothes. All of South East Asia that we’ve encountered is pretty conservative when it comes to female dress, so it isn’t too surprising that her nakedness is controversial.

The even more famous Kep crab statue (type “Kep” into Google and this is what you will see).

Kep is well known for its crab market, and we headed there one evening for dinner. Here it is.

We went to a place called The Crab Shack. Guess what we had?

Fish. We had fish. (One beast of a red snapper, in fact.)

I had read that the crab fishing here has become unsustainable, and that red snapper is one of the eco-friendly alternatives. Plus, I’m not all that bothered about crab.

The food was excellent, but even better was the view.

I’ve never been to a restaurant in such a cool location. We could hear the waves crashing and watch the sun set over the water… should we be holding hands across the table? I thought. HAH!

Sunset.

Just twenty minutes by boat from Kep is Rabbit Island (called Koh Tonsai in Khmer). It is meant to look like a rabbit. It really, really doesn’t. It’s more of a blob.

This place is gorgeous. We visited for the afternoon, and both thought we would have loved to stay a whole day here. There are huts for hire and a few nice restaurants on the main beach. But getting the tandem across on boats with no gangplanks would have been a hassle.

A tiny, empty beach – a great spot for some swimming in the sea.

An hour before our boat was due to leave, we trundled our way back to the main beach, got ourselves a coconut and admired the view (which included a lot of dreadlocks and at least one acoustic guitar, though none are featured here).

We will very soon be heading inland towards the dust and the heat, so it was lovely to finish off seeing the coast in style.

First of all, this border was as easy as you like. No queue, no hassle, no corruption. (Time of crossing: March 2016.)

From Ha Tien it’s just four miles to the border.

A member of staff pointed us to the office. We went in, got our visa stamped and off we went. After one more inspection further down the road we officially exited Vietnam (*sob*).

The Cambodian border was very smart looking.

We pulled up to the building. The staff members indicated that we should leave our bike outside. As there was almost nobody else there, it felt fine to do so.

We needed a visa on arrival, so we collected a form from the guys on the left of the door. It’s very simple to fill out. We handed in our form and passport, paid $35 each, and hey presto… one month tourist visa! (Though if you are from the Middle East or Africa check the Cambodian Embassy website – it isn’t as simple for some countries in these regions.)

We headed over to the other desk, filled in an arrival card, and after a lot of stamps on passports, and a little bit of stapling, we were good to go.

While here we met a Norwegian cycle tourist, also heading to Kep. This means that the only two times we have met another cycle tourist in Vietnam is the day we entered and the day we left. I would have liked to have met some more, but I cannot deny the pleasing sense of symmetry this gives me.

On the other side of the Cambodian border building is the reason that a lot of Vietnamese people cross – the casinos. Aside from buying lottery tickets, gambling is illegal in Vietnam.

Dazzled as we were by Ha Tien Vegas, we resisted the bright lights and hit the road.

What does Cambodia look like? Good question.

This is what Cambodia looks like.

Apparently there’s also some beaches and temples and things.

We saw many salt flats, a river or two and some long, low huts which are probably used for storage.

I have heard from several people that Cambodians are a lovely bunch, and indeed there were many big smiles and “Hellos” from local people.

It wasn’t a long way to Kep, but Eric, who has a bad cold, was really feeling it. I had to keep patting him on the back and saying “Nearly there.” Poor Eric.

We finally reached the coastal road and got a subdued sea breeze as our reward.

I successfully withdrew some cash from an ATM just before we reached our hotel – always a bit of a relief when this works in a new country. Do you know what I learned last night? Cambodia has TWO currencies which it uses interchangeably: the riel and the American dollar. The exchange rate is 4000 riel to $1. Dong was hard enough Cambodia, dong was hard enough.

After finding the hotel we had booked, the Champey Sor Guesthouse, Eric was at last able to collapse onto the bed with a cry of “Uuurggggggghhhhhhhhhhh…” spending the next hour giving his nose the attention it deserved.